Sleepless
by IronRaven
Summary: Two bodies, two minds, needing rest. One filled with terror, one with frustration. Two times, one place, always touching. Ka/IY, with a little help.


Sleepless   
by Ironraven 

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama. Which is probably better for Kagome, because if I owned it, Kikyou would be really crazy. 

Let this be a lesson: jalapenos before bed are bad. 

Who says I only do angst? 

--- 

In a hall of twisted, living stone, Inuyasha ran. Strange, dancing lights of all colours filled the rippling passage, casting freakish shadows. Ahead, he could smell her scent, taste her fear. _There, on the left._

As he slowed his headlong dash, the wall shifted, swallowing the passage way he meant to turn down. From the wall, a whitish-black face oozed forth, a mocking grin on it's features. "Not that way, halfbreed. Go back the way you came, it's the shortest way to save her. But which one? Which woman do you love, dog boy?" With that, the face melted, running down the currently jade colored wall, before being swallowed up into the watery ceiling. 

"No! It's not fair! I can save them, just let me through! You said it would be a fair game!" Drawing Tessaiga, he watched in horror as it's blade burned, leaving an arm-long bouquet of spring flowers in the passage of the flames. "NOOOOO!!!" 

--- 

Nestled in the branches of the Go-Shimboku, Inuyasha moaned in his sleep. Tossing, rolling, he had nearly fallen several times. Under closed lids, his eyes wildly flicked from right to left, his face twisted in fear and pain. 

--- 

Rolling over, Kagome glanced at her clock. _2 AM. And I have a test tomorrow. Why can't I sleep?_

Sitting next to the clock was the mug she had warmed milk in an hour ago. Fresh air flowed down over her from the window she had opened half an hour before that. "Oh, why can't I sleep? What's keeping me awake?" 

Sitting up, she slipped the ear plugs out that she had put in at midnight, thinking maybe it was the noise of the city keeping her up. Resting her chin in her hands, she propped her elbows on her knees. Outside, the sliver of moon was nearing it's resting place. 

Idly, she watched the Go-Shimboku's leaves rippling in the gentle breeze, waving it's limbs. Waving to her, beckoning to her. _I need sleep so badly, I'm seeing things. The tree wants me?_

"Oh, why not. It's about the only thing I haven't tried." Pulling on the sweats that she had rejected earlier as to restrictive, Kagome slid her alarm clock into the pocket of the matching jacket. "Just in case." 

Slinging her blanket over her shoulder, she gently padded down the stairs. Jii-chan's snores rumbled like a happy engine. As quietly as she could, she slid the door open, and stepped outside. The chill night air caressed her fully as she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, her sandaled feet dragging across the courtyard. 

Reaching the God Tree, she hugged herself for a moment, studying the bark. The moss was gone, and the scars from the arrows that had pinned Inuyasha were much higher off the ground, but it was the same tree. There was the branch Inuyasha sat on when he was watching the well for her to return, and that was the one he used when he just wanted to be alone. Resting her hand on the smooth, aged trunk, she could feel the ancient tree's power. "I bet you could tell me how to sleep. You are probably the oldest living thing in Japan. What do you do when you can't sleep?" 

The leaves changed their rustle, almost answering her. One broke free, stroking her cheek, and coming to land between the roots below where Inuyasha had slumbered for so many years. A branch moaned softly, the wide one that Inuyasha could stretch out on, laying on his back. "You want me to sit here? Ok." 

_I've done odder things than talk to a tree the past few years._ Tucking her feet under her, Kagome kicked off the sandals. Leaning slightly, she found a knob on the trunk that was the same size and shape as the hanyou's shoulder, and at the same height if he was seated next to her. Warm under the blanket, and surrounded by the timeless protection of the great tree, Kagome's eyelids finally grew heavy. In moments, she was asleep. 

--- 

Around Inuyasha, the walls suddenly started to throb rhythmically. He could feel their energy in him. It matched his pulse, causing the air itself to ripple. The energy was coming from all around, and from within him. 

The living, teasing stone started to glow in a warm, purified, pinkish light, like a Shikon shard. The pulsing slowed slightly, as his energy battered the walls from within. On the other side of the tormenting barrier, the other, matching, energy slowly kneads the stone. As the light grew into the point of being bright, the walls start to moan. 

Slowly the stone oozed and flowed, like spring ice in a river, but flowing in all directions. Up, down, left, right, some of it is even swallowed in on itself. With a defeated groan, the walls disappeared. 

Inuyasha found himself sitting against his tree, below the place he had been bound for so many years. The well was within sight, the start of a shrine being built around it. Suddenly a ball bounded into his view, his hands effortlessly snatched it in midair. 

A girl ran up to him, her hands outstretched, a sweet smile on her face. Smiling, he tossed the ball back, watching her sable mane flow in the sunlight, her little black ears twitching. Behind her, others waved, calling to her. _Rikka. Her name is Rikka._

His children. His nephews and nieces. All of them smiling, safe, happy. Demon, hanyou, human, no one judged, no one despised. Even his brother's human ward was with them. 

--- 

One tree, one well, two hearts, two times. All time, touching, bound, united. 

In both times, the wind flowed through the God Tree, the old wood creaking with a nearly human-sounding sigh of contentment. 

--- 

As the sun broke the horizon, the silence was broken by a beeping from Kagome's pocket. Her eyes flew open, her hand trying to reach for the alarm clock, before she remembered where she was. _It's in the pouch._

--- 

The first light caressed the white haired warrior, the quiet of the forest broken only by a few chaste, nearly silent bird calls. Without warning, he raised his hand in his sleep, and smacked himself in the belly. His eyes flew open in surprise. "Why the hell did I do that?" 

The only answer he received was the soft chuckle of rippling leaves. 

--- 

Author's note:   
**Rikka**: the first day of summer 


End file.
